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31
LP MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
Prevention Foundation. Talk
about why you are involved
in promoting certification in
our industry.
LAMB: What's the old cliché?
Knowledge is power. I went through
the LPC process a few years ago, and
I know what a personal benefit it was
for me in broadening my horizons. I
can't speak for the room, but when
you get to a point where you think
you've learned it all, you're probably
kidding yourself.
Advancing our industry through
education and empowerment
via certification, to me, provides
extraordinary leverage. I believe it's
notable that the foundation is moving
in the direction in which the business
is moving—be it total retail loss or
deescalating bad behavior. If you look
at the retail change curve, it's simply
phenomenal. If you consider what we
were focused on three to five years ago
versus today, it's materially changed
and will continue to change. It's key
that the foundation keep up with that
change. Why? Because it empowers the
men and women in this room to not
just be leaders in asset protections but
also leaders in their companies. For me,
that's the secret sauce.
MODERATOR: On a separate
note, I was one of the first
solution providers to get their
LPC certification. Tell us the
benefit that you see of solution
providers getting certified.
LAMB: To me, the more a solution
provider knows about how my business
operates and how it functions as an
industry, the better equipped you
are to have a more compelling value
proposition when you come see me.
The learnings from the foundation
coursework and certification broadens
a solution provider's knowledge of
what's important to retailers and makes
them better partners.
MODERATOR: Let's talk a
bit about the interactions
between retailers and solution
providers. What are things
that contribute to a good
partnership and things that
do not?
LANGLEY: From my perspective, it's
critical to work with provider partners
who are good listeners. Integrity and
honesty are absolutely key. And it's
also important to come to the table
with solutions.
LAMB: I would have to say that
you know going into any significant
project with a solution provider that
it won't be seamless, that there will be
hiccups—things that neither we nor
the solution provider anticipated. And
that's okay. To me, what separates the
really great ones from the goods ones
is that they're really quick to react to
that, particularly if it's on their side
of the fence. That allows you to get
past whatever pain point that is and
continue the project.
The other thing that resonates with
me is solution providers that sell me
something and then they're gone. I
want a partner who will stick with me
even if I'm not continuing to spend
money, who continue to ask if the
solution is still working for me.
STINDE: Let me follow up to that by
telling a story. As you know, I left loss
prevention for a while and went into
the safety business. There were two
gentlemen from Tyco who reached
out to me, not to sell me something,
but to see how my family and I were
doing. These were guys who cared
about me not because I was spending
a dollar with them because at the time
I wasn't.
I've also had people spend time
with me because they are in a new
role; maybe they've moved from one
company to another or from retail to
the vendor side. They come tell me
what they do, and we talk about my
business needs. But at the end of the
day, we say, "You know, there's really
not an opportunity here for you. If
there is, let's get back in touch and
talk about it." But that time spent has
built a rapport that can pay off down
the road. I am a big believer that it
is important to dig your well before
you're thirsty.
MODERATOR: Mark, let's stay
with you for a second. You're
in a genre of retailing that
has always been susceptible
to violent crime. And violent
crime is up in America. How
does that aspect of your job
weigh on you personally?
STINDE: With over 10,000 stores in
the US and Canada, we have incidents
in the stores. For those of you that
have been associated with the safety
world, you likely understand the
Heinrich's triangle theory. The bottom
of the triangle starts with potential
risks and graduates in risk to the top
of the triangle. For example, 300,000
potential risks relate to 3,000 near
misses, and those relate to thirty
lost-time injuries, ultimately relating
to the potential for a severe if not fatal
incident at the top of the triangle.
When I get a call in the middle of
the night from one of my people, I
know it's generally because something
has happened. Our focus is to
mitigate incidents by investing in
technology and other solutions to
minimize incidents, partnering with
law enforcement, and learning from
industry best practices. It matters a
great deal to me that we minimize
the number of incidents, so it doesn't
result in a severe incident at the top of
Heinrich's triangle.
MODERATOR: Mike, what
keeps you up at night?
LAMB: I think there has to be an
extraordinary sensitivity to safety. I
had the misfortune at one company
of attending a funeral for an asset
protection person who lost his life.
That will sober you quickly on the
reality of the need to err on the side
of caution with every policy you script
relative to the detention of shoplifters
or whatever potentially puts your
people in harm's way. At the end
of the day, retail is insignificant if it
means someone has to sacrifice their
life over merchandise.